-
Having a Baby in the Czech Republic? (non-EU national) Legal Steps You Need to Take
First off, this is an informational post particularly written for all of us confused non-EU foreigners living in the Czech Republic that are not able to get the straight answers that you need about what exactly to do and in what order after having a child here. I am writing this just for you, to save you the hassle that we ourselves had to go through. Please take heed of the steps because there is a very specific order they need to be accomplished in, even though this order cannot be found anywhere online that I’ve seen. In short, there are 5 things you need to obtain on behalf of…
-
The Books of 2022
I really thought I wouldn’t read that much this year. Fed up with reading a bunch of titles last year for book club that I wasn’t that interested in last year, I jumped in and did a bunch of baby/pregnancy-related reading in the first half of the year, figuring that was all I’d get around to once I had the baby. Boy was I wrong. Enter: breastfeeding sessions. I was not privy to all that breastfeeding a baby entails (in many ways, honestly). But basically, it means that every 3-4 hours, you are hanging out feeding your baby, something which takes little active effort from you, for at least thirty…
-
Year of Life & Travels: 2022
2022 was such a big beautiful year, especially compared with the two that came before it. This was the year I finished out my first full school year (not online at all!) at my new place of work. I worked my little booty off, knowing it would be the end of my free time, earning both an Intermediate Certificate in Herbalism (two years of work!) in late April and a B2 Certificate (Upper-Intermediate) in German language achievement from the Goethe-Zentrum in early June. But obviously, the biggest thing – I spent the first half of the year growing a baby! In the middle of the year, giving birth, and the…
-
Life Lately: And That Was Autumn With a Baby
Now with a five-month-old, I can barely sit at a computer for more than ten minutes each day – I’m embarrassed that this post took me about two months to finally publish. I am really taking to heart “sleep when the baby sleeps” so my very few minutes of free time is going to rest and self-care. Sometimes I manage to write a whole e-mail. With an infant that is demanding more and more attention daily, that is definitely what’s working for me right now. With Alex back to work in mid-September after about two and a half months as a new little family, things have reached a new level…
-
The Perks of a Summer Spent at Home
The only other August I’ve ever spent so much time here in the Czech Republic was the year I got married (2015), and that was after two months away! I’ve called this year our “Baby Summer of 2022” as things are clearly a bit different with an infant. As we’ve been very much around, one thing which has firmly taken a place in our summer rituals is that of the weekly farmer’s market visit. We have a beautiful bi-weekly market in Piaristické Square here in Budejovice… I think I’ve never been to a market in a more beautiful setting than this one. As we aren’t getting a CSA (community-supported agriculture)…
-
The Third Trimester & My Pregnancy Favorites
Happy summer, friends! We’ve been hanging out in South Bohemia as a new little family since our release from the hospital and it’s been such a nice slow time getting adjusted to the rhythms of life with a newborn. Our little one is already two months old now and I’ve been so lucky to have Alex off work until the start of the new school year and here at home. Thanks again for all the kind well wishes, messages and even gifts from some dear online friends. I never got to do a third trimester recap (clearly) – it was my shortest and unexpectedly toughest trimester, having been diagnosed with…
-
Hello, baby! (and my time in a Czech hospital)
Well! I certainly didn’t think I’d be writing this at this point, but I have so much to update you about! We are so proud to announce the birth of our little Milo Mouse (who henceforth will be referred to in this space as “Mouse”) in the setting sun of Friday, June 10, 2022, several weeks ahead of schedule! I’ve been hanging out with him for about a month now and he is sweet as can be and thankfully healthy. We are loving soaking up all of these sweet newborn moments with him in our little family. Our Mouse surprised the heck out of us – he came in fast…
-
8 Peculiar Czech Cultural Habits (& Book Giveaway!)
Lately (between baby books of which there are many), I’ve been reading Culture Smart!‘s guide to Czech customs as they approached me to test out their new Czech Republic guide. I have to admit I was initially skeptical about a guide to Czech culture written by a foreigner – I was worried that it may be written by an expat who’s lived in Prague for a couple years and suddenly fancies themselves an expert on the topic but I was entirely relieved to see that the author was Kevan Vogler of one of the OG Czech expat blogs, Beyond Prague. An actual sigh of relief – if there’s anyone who’s…
-
Life Lately (Pregnancy) Update: Second Trimester
Happy May! This week I’ve entered the third trimester. With less than three months until our new baby joins us, things are starting to feel very real around here and I figured it was time for a bit of a life and pregnancy update. I was very lucky to spend the beginnings of my 2nd trimester at home this January and February as it was exam period during the height of the highest COVID spike we have seen yet in Czech Republic, and hide I duly did. Fortunately the situation has looked better and better, as we are no longer dark red on the map and cases are lower than…
You May Also Like
May, Lately + More Thoughts of Traveling “These Days”
-
The Moments That Remind Me Why I’m Here
I’m on my way back from a lesson with a student (who is also my friend, gynecologist, etcetera, etcetera) where I’ve just successfully got her to use the present perfect unasked for the first time, and it’s a moody but refreshingly cool spring day. The clouds are sort of shifty characters and look like rain could spring forth from them at any minute. Without thinking much about it, other things on my mind, I cross the blue bridge across the river where one of my favorite spots in Budejovice is. I like it because it reminds me of the banks of the Seine in Paris. But you know, in southwestern…
